The present invention relates to an apparatus for collating pages of a document that are sequentially printed or otherwise arranged on a continuous sheet in multipage rows. For example, documents produced by rapid printing techniques in association with computer systems are often in the form of a fan-folded, continuous web. However, the fan-folded web may comprise a series of consecutive rows each having two or more pages arranged laterally thereacross. If two pages are printed in each lateral row, the fan-folded web is said to be in "two-up" form. Similarly, if three pages are arranged in each lateral row, the fan-folded web is said to be in "three-up" form. Higher multiples of pages arranged laterally across a paper web are, of course, possible. The apparatus of the invention may be adapted to collate documents printed on a fan-folded or other continuous web in two-up, three-up or greater multi-up form.
Documents printed on a fan-folded web in multi-up form often have random numbers of pages. For example, a fan-folded web in two-up form may have five pages that, accordingly, occupy two and one-half multipage rows, two pages being printed on each row. The next document printed on the fan-folded web may have eight pages that then occupy the remainder of the third row and the next three and one-half consecutive rows. The collating apparatus of the present invention may also be used to collate documents printed in this random fashion.